Circling the Rim...

...or something like it.

Ever feel like you are a basketball circling the rim of a hoop? Eternally spinning, waiting for that chance to tip over the edge and fall through the net?

I’ve been spinning around this hoop for the last two months and all I feel is dizzy. I’ve auditioned for some amazing projects, turned in some great tapes (and not so great tapes), written a solid pilot and been eating-drinking-sleeping the business. I’ve gotten pinned, gotten amazing feedback from casting directors and generally done WELL. Would be nice to finally tip into the hoop and get a job, though.

This industry is constantly about circling the rim, I find. From the endless cycles of development to auditioning again and again, waiting for that coveted ‘yes’. I even find the entertainment tastebuds of society move in a circle. What do I mean?

Well, have you noticed that what’s in the ‘zeitgeist’ comes back again? Think about fashion: every forty years or so, we see certain style and trends coming back. Lately, people are OBSESSED with the 80s — the plain white sneakers, fitted hi-waist jeans… from the TV to the songs to the fashion, everyone is doing 80s. Just three years ago, everyone was obsessed with the 70s (Bohemian Rhapsody and David Bowie, to say the least).

I was talking with new friend today about this and it reminded me of this circular thing in genre I like to come back to again and again. Genre popularity in Hollywood seems to boil down to a few key categories:

• magic (witches/wizards, i.e. Harry Potter, The Magicians)

• monsters (vampires, werewolves, etc.; think Supernatural or Buffy)

• superheroes (Marvel, DC, The Boys)

• high fantasy (elves, dwarves, ‘ancient Europe’ style worlds where magic replaces tech; basically, Tolkien)

• futuristic sci-fi and time travel (mostly no magic, very future and tech focused; think Ender’s Game or The Expanse)

• aliens and space (still very sci-fi and tech heavy, but with more space exploration)

• apocalypse/dystopian futures (anything from Last of Us to the Hunger Games)

• horror (mostly the supernatural horror like ghosts, spirits, etc.)

What is popular in genre seems to change every five to ten years or so, with some outliers. This number gets thrown off with long-running series or things like the Marvel Cinematic Universe that just keep going on and on for decades, but I’m talking less about those and more like what’s in the zeitgeist. What are audiences hungry for?

Take the last forty or so years, for instance:

• The early to mid 70s had lots of dystopian/apocalypse content (Ark II, Planet of the Apes, Survivors, 1990, Doomwatch, The Guardians, The Changes).

• The mid-70s had some people with powers or enhancements (Wonder Woman, The Invisible Man, Six Million Dollar Man, Bionic Woman, Shazam!, Tomorrow People). There was also some time travel and parallel earth stuff (The Fantastic Journey, Sapphire & Steel, Buck Rogers, Time Slip).

  

• The late 70s saw lots of post-Star Wars space obsession (Space Academy, Quark, Battlestar Galactica, Space: 1999)

• early 80s was obsessed with space and aliens: Galactica 1980, The Phoenix, The Powers of Matthew Star

• Th early to mid-80s had some dystopian/apocalypse content, like V and The Tripods.

• The mid to late 80s saw time travel/parallel earths (Back to the Future, Red Dwarf, Quantum Leap, Twilight Zone) and more space and aliens (Aliens, Star Wars, The Terminator, Alf, Star Trek, Transformers)

  

• The early 90s were dominated by aliens and futuristic sci-fi (Roswell, Farscape, Babylon 5, Stargate, Star Trek) and monsters (Buffy, Angel

• the late 90s/early 2000s saw a lot of magic (Charmed, Harry Potter, Xena, Hercules, Highlander) in addition to the monsters (Supernatural) and space stuff that were ending

  

• the mid-2000s saw a ramping up of superheroes that really kicked off in 2008, when Iron Man hit the big screen. Everything shifted to superheroes or modern people with powers: Heroes, Fringe, Tomorrow People, DC/CW TV, etc.

• by the early to mid 2010s, we see some dystopian/apocalypse popularity: The Walking Dead, The Hunger Games, Divergent, Maze Runner, the 100, 12 Monkeys.

• Late 2010s and pre-COVID, we were starting to see more time travel (Doctor Who, Outlander, Legends of Tomorrow) and horror (American Horror Story, The Haunting of Hill House, Get Out) take the stage.

  

• the early 2020s have seen a weird focus on EVERYTHING. I think the pandemic, reboot obsession and streaming has allowed people to embrace outside the zeitgeist and made all genres relevant once more.

  • But I think, if I were going to categorize it, we are moving back into space/futuristic sci fi, as we have a lot of popular content in that space: Star Trek, For All Mankind, Mandalorian, Andor, Obi-wan Kenobi, Resident Alien, Stranger Things, Westworld, Quantum Leap, etc.

    

Of course, what does this mean about where we are headed? I think, based on the upfronts and the trends of what’s happened in the past, we’ll be seeing a sharp move into the fantasy/high fantasy realm. Lots more magic and monsters, for sure. We’re already seeing some of that with the Last of Us (zombie/horror/apocalypse) and Rings of Power (high fantasy/magic). This sort of thing tends to follow sci-fi and futuristic content, so it makes sense as a whole.

… so that was a deep dive in genre history that no one probably expected. I hope it seemed interesting? While I find the whole topic fascinating (especially how these changes in genre echo political/socio-economic historic events — I can get into this next time if there’s interest!), I also find it incredibly informative as a creator.

We always seem to be ‘chasing the zeitgeist’, as we need to make content now that people are going to want in the next 3 to 5 years. Predicting what people are going to want is tough, but very doable if we track the flow of genre cycling in consort with the socio-political-economic trends.

This is probably enough for today, but if anyone wants me to go into historical context and how entertainment is influenced by politics, economics and social movements, please let me know in the comments! I’m always happy to nerd out given the opportunity.

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Not much writing done this week, though that’s more down to laziness and procrastination than anything else. I had time over the weekend but opted to conk out watching anime instead.

More big auditions, which is fantastic! I have been so lucky to audition for two network projects during pilot season. It’s the first time I’ve ever done that and I feel almost giddy that I get to be in this position. Thank you so much to my reps (Joe and Brandon) and the casting directors that have helped me get here! Couldn’t do it without you. <3

I wanted to end this week’s blog with some recommendations!

• I’ve been reading some great comics lately, but I wanted to plug TORRENT by Marc Guggenheim and Justin Greenwood. Distributed by Image Comics, it’s the perfect superhero comic for someone who likes realistic heroes but doesn’t go as far as The Boys. Issue one came out a couple weeks ago and left me on such a cliffhanger, I have been antsy for a week! I don’t know if I can last until the second issue next month. Gorgeous art, beautiful storytelling and a kickass superhero you should definitely not piss off:

  

• If you are into wholesome, slice-of-life anime and Japanese food, you should check out Isekai Shokudo (Restaurant to Another World). I’ve been watching this one as my ‘veg out and stuff my face’ content and it has served me very well. Just be warned, you will be very hungry after watching this, so make sure you eat dinner while you watch!

  

• I’ve also been watching Heaven Official’s Blessing, a Chinese danmei (boy love!) anime. It’s a fun mix of action, suspense and beautiful, gay idiots with long hair that I’m completely loving. I highly recommend, even if it’s just to listen to the opening song (which completely SLAPS).

  

That’s all for me this week! Thanks for reading and do let me know in the comments if there’s any nerd shit you want to hear me ramble on about. I will oblige if I can!

Until next time,

Nandini